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A review by gabriele_queerbookdom
Bloody Spade by Brittany M. Willows
4.0
DRC provided directly by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Representation: protagonist on the asexual spectrum, queer Asian-coded protagonist, aromantic secondary character, demisexual demiromantic secondary character, queer Asian-coded tertiary characters, amputee Asian-coded tertiary character, trans tertiary character, queer tertiary character, Asian-coded tertiary character, Slavic-coded tertiary character, Black tertiary character, non-binary tertiary character.
Content Warning: death, violence, trauma, forced kiss, panic attacks, torture, bullying.
Bloody Spade by Brittany M. Willows is an adventurous fantasy set in a semi-fictional world in which a mysterious and cataclysmic event brings magic back.
Seven years have passed since the Reemergence, a bewildering event which brought death and unimaginable powers on the streets of Hildegrand and the reign of Amberlye. On the seventh anniversary of the occurrence a new influx hits Elysian Tower where numerous dangerous creatures are trying to escape a pit to run amok and cause disasters. It is there that Ellen and Iori meet for the first time.
I quite enjoyed reading Bloody Spade and I am very interested in knowing how this story will continue and conclude. There are a couple aspects I did not completely like though.
Firstly, the mixture of imaginary elements and real ones. This characteristic of the book is not something I disliked per se, but it is something I am not sure how I feel about. It is probably a me-thing and my preconceptions about urban fantasy, which I always thought had to be set in the real world with a fantasy element hidden from the general public.
Secondly, the mention of a star-crossed romance between the Heart and Spade suits, which is an aspect I will not discuss as it could spoiler parts of the story. I am just going to say it felt as an unnecessary piece of lore.
What I liked most about the story was the originality of the premise and the magical system, and the diverse ensemble of characters, among whom Ikkei stood out. He had my heart from the moment he called Alexander a b*tch, which is exactly what I called him in my mind for most of the book and I wish he will get a bigger role in the second book.
Bloody Spade is a literary adventure you should really think about reading and pre-ordering!
Representation: protagonist on the asexual spectrum, queer Asian-coded protagonist, aromantic secondary character, demisexual demiromantic secondary character, queer Asian-coded tertiary characters, amputee Asian-coded tertiary character, trans tertiary character, queer tertiary character, Asian-coded tertiary character, Slavic-coded tertiary character, Black tertiary character, non-binary tertiary character.
Content Warning: death, violence, trauma, forced kiss, panic attacks, torture, bullying.
Bloody Spade by Brittany M. Willows is an adventurous fantasy set in a semi-fictional world in which a mysterious and cataclysmic event brings magic back.
Seven years have passed since the Reemergence, a bewildering event which brought death and unimaginable powers on the streets of Hildegrand and the reign of Amberlye. On the seventh anniversary of the occurrence a new influx hits Elysian Tower where numerous dangerous creatures are trying to escape a pit to run amok and cause disasters. It is there that Ellen and Iori meet for the first time.
I quite enjoyed reading Bloody Spade and I am very interested in knowing how this story will continue and conclude. There are a couple aspects I did not completely like though.
Firstly, the mixture of imaginary elements and real ones. This characteristic of the book is not something I disliked per se, but it is something I am not sure how I feel about. It is probably a me-thing and my preconceptions about urban fantasy, which I always thought had to be set in the real world with a fantasy element hidden from the general public.
Secondly, the mention of a star-crossed romance between the Heart and Spade suits, which is an aspect I will not discuss as it could spoiler parts of the story. I am just going to say it felt as an unnecessary piece of lore.
What I liked most about the story was the originality of the premise and the magical system, and the diverse ensemble of characters, among whom Ikkei stood out. He had my heart from the moment he called Alexander a b*tch, which is exactly what I called him in my mind for most of the book and I wish he will get a bigger role in the second book.
Bloody Spade is a literary adventure you should really think about reading and pre-ordering!